Infertility on the rise? The high chances of having a baby
Infertility: a growing concern?
Human beings are among the least fertile of any species on earth. There are just a handful of days each month when a couple can achieve pregnancy. And yet amazingly here we all are, giving rise to optimism!
| For a healthy woman, the chances of becoming pregnant during any month are about 20% at the age of 20. These odds reduce to 5% by the age of 40.1 The most rapid decline in fertility potential has been found to occur from age 35 upward.2 |
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From the 1960s until the 1980s, the incidence of primary infertility increased in many Western countries. It’s widely believed that this was caused by an increase in the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease in women, which causes damage to the fallopian tubes.
During the 1980s, the percentage of couples with primary infertility was relatively stable. However, the number of women reaching a reproductive age increased. This meant that there were considerably more infertile couples in the late 1980s than there were at the beginning of the decade.
Since then, the birth rate in Western countries has fallen considerably. In part, this is due to couples postponing pregnancy, or deciding not to have children because of social factors. At the same time, the number of women over the age of 35 giving birth for the first time has more than doubled. This is despite the fact that fertility begins to decline in women of the same age, quite rapidly.2
What may at first seem a contradiction can be explained by:
- Women postponing pregnancy for career considerations or other factors.
- An increase in the female population aged 35 to 49.
- The trend towards smaller, later families.
- Advances in reproductive technology.
What it’s not however, is proof that women can postpone childbirth until their late 30s and expect to become pregnant with the same ease they might have experienced in their 20s.
Is there a reason to be optimistic?
Sterility is rare. In a large UK survey only 2.4% of women aged 40–55 years reported unresolved infertility with no pregnancies over their reproductive years. A further 1.9% never gave birth despite achieving pregnancy.3 For most couples, expectations of a successful pregnancy are realised even if a little help is needed along the way.
| Fertility declines with age, as do treatment success rates.1 If your initial treatment is not working, discuss with your doctor when the right time is to seek help in a specialized fertility clinic and consider advanced treatment options. |
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1. Age and Fertility. A Guide for Patients. ASRM 2003; http://www.asrm.org/Patients/patientbooklets/agefertility.pdf 2. Aging and infertility in women: a committee opinion Fertil Steril 2002;78:215-219. 3. Oakley L et al. Lifetime prevalence of infertility and infertility treatment in the UK: results from a population-based survey of reproduction. Hum Reprod 2008;23(2):447-450.
